A hoax news report claiming that two people were arrested in Tembisa for being in possession of over 80,000 ballot papers pre-marked in favour of the ANC has been dismissed by the SAPS.
The story, which was shared thousands of times on Facebook and posted by gossip news site, Gossip Mill Mzansi, cited an unnamed police officer as a source of the news, and little else.
Colonel Amelia Dreyer of the South African Police Service confirmed to BusinessTech that the story is a hoax.
“This seems to be one of the many hoax news websites that are mushrooming on the internet. There is no verified source to the story,” Dreyer said.
Hoax stories on the internet are nothing new, yet despite obvious signs to the contrary, get shared on social media as truth. An example of this phenomenon can be seen in full practiceevery April 1st.
HowStuffWorks has a useful online guide on how to spot fake news stories on the Internet.
